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In:New Vistas in Research on Metaphor and Metonymy: Their contexts and interaction across discourse types and modalities
Edited by Robert Kiełtyka, Mario Brdar, Marcin Kudła and Goran Milić
[Human Cognitive Processing 82] 2027
► pp. 243–266

Chapter 9
Music as the vehicle of emotions

A cognitively-couched analysis of “As time goes by” as featured in the film Casablanca (1942)

 | University of Rzeszów
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
The score from Casablanca, particularly the recurring but never fully played “As time goes by,” is analysed from a cognitive perspective. We discuss how meaning emerges from the interaction of musical and visual components. The music transforms across scenes, symbolizing evolving feelings. We propose a central metaphor: changes in emotions are changes in sounds, supported by subordinate metaphors such as joy and hope are major keys and pain and uncertainty are minor keys. Our analysis shows how visual and musical elements work together to evoke emotional responses, emphasizing the role of sound in shaping narrative meaning.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Types and importance of film score
  • 3.Metaphor and metonymy
  • 4.Literature review
  • 5.Analysis
    • 5.1The first version of “As time goes by”
    • 5.2The second version of “As time goes by”
    • 5.3The third version of “As time goes by”
    • 5.4The fourth version of “As time goes by”
    • 5.5The fifth version of “As time goes by”
    • 5.6The last version of “As time goes by”
    • 5.7The importance of a piano in Casablanca
  • 6.Discussion
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Author queries
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
  • Filmography
  • Online sources
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